2012 TRENDS: Your virtual wallet

(Read introduction: Coming up next, review of the 2012 media trends.) During the last quarter of 2011, competition in the new (and highly lucrative) mobile payment market intensified in North America, with Google launching its Google Wallet service in the U.S. in September, and VISA, Master Card and PayPal following close behind with a range of mobile transaction services. A recent study by Forrester Research predicts that by 2016, consumers will be able to pay for most of their purchases using their smartphones. Mobile payment can take many forms. It may consist of using your cell phone to interface with the merchant’s terminal and finalizing payment with a simple click. Or it may involve using your phone to register your transactions, which in turn are added to the monthly bill you receive from your mobile phone operator, as is offered by Android for application purchases in the US and since 2011 in Europe. In all cases, we can expect that the ease of shopping using mobile payments will build consumer confidence and drive the growth of business models such as in-app purchases or mobile advertising, both directly linked to the increase in paid app downloads. In Canada, while the rush to mobile payment is less pronounced, a recent survey conducted by ING Direct demonstrates the extent to which Canadians are ready to shift their banking transactions to their mobile phones. Among the functionalities most sought (31% of respondents) from financial institutions is the possibility of making payments using smartphones. In an environment where business and monetization models rule and where the ultra-connectivity of users can facilitate—indeed accelerate—this shift to transaction models, the mobile payment trend is clearly one to watch.